City's young farewell the rock'n'roll pontiff JP2

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Here and there ... people from all walks pay their respects to the Pope at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney (above), while pallbearers carry the coffin of the Pope in St Peter's Square.Photo: Brendan Esposito and Reuters

It lacked the splendour and celebrity presences of Rome, but
Sydney's farewell for Pope John Paul II was no less emotional.

Last night St Mary's Cathedral was turned over to Catholic
youth, most too young to remember any other pope, to watch the
telecast of the papal funeral Mass on large screens in the nave
that only three days ago had hosted Sydney's Requiem Mass.

At the cathedral's entrance a single candle and a bunch of pink
roses were placed at the foot of a copper bust of the pontiff. The
Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, Julian Porteous, encouraged those in
the near packed Cathedral to dedicate time to personal prayer.

The telecast was interspersed with song and stories of the
Pope's impact on the lives of young Catholics, which at times gave
the spiritual head of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics the aura of
a rock star.

Lubica Jovanovic, 19, of Lewisham, and Tarryn Ellis, 18, of
Coogee, met the Pope when they travelled to Toronto for World Youth
Day in 2002.

"Everyone was screaming 'JP2, we love you' and there were flags
flying," Ms Jovanovic told the congregation. "When I saw him I
started to cry for joy, I was so overwhelmed. Before that I knew
nothing of the Pope. I knew he was the highest priest of the
church, but nothing else. On Sunday it was raining and the Pope
spoke a couple of words and then the sun shone."

Earlier Ms Jovanovic said: "He was treated like a rock star,
like a big rock'n'roll pope."

It was John Paul who called the first World Youth Day
celebration in Rome in 1985.

World Youth Days have grown to be among the largest gatherings
in the world, with a million present in Paris in 1997 and more than
2 million in Rome in 2000. Sydney will learn in August, at the next
congress in Cologne, if its application to host World Youth Day
2008 has been successful. About 2000 Catholic youth from all over
Australia are expected to attend this year's event.

Ms Ellis, who has given up a year to act as a volunteer youth
leader, said the gatherings were a communal spiritual
experience.

"Before I ever saw the Pope I didn't have a deep regard for him,
I didn't know him at all," she said earlier. "He was just a guy in
the church with authority. But it was just so awesome when I saw
him, he had just this amazing presence, crowds followed him to get
the tiniest glimpses of him, they climbed poles and on even
shoulders ... I got to within 10 metres from him and I just broke
down. It's so hard to believe, so crazy that this old guy had such
an effect on people."

A breakdown of Catholic Mass attendance by the Australian Bureau
of Statistics shows the church is struggling to attract people aged
15 to 35.

Bishop Porteous said John Paul believed young people held the
key to the revitalisation of the Catholic Church.

His refusal to soften his messages or shy away from confronting
issues demonstrated an integrity that connected with a bewildered
and anxious generation confused by conflicting messages of modern
times, he said.

"He never tried to pursue popularity for its own sake, he never
tried to be hip and cool, and they felt a deep integrity about him
and his message; that he lived what he taught ... The Pope was
offering something at a deeper level."